Slide feed



July 11, 1961 E. w. RUFF SLIDE FEED Filed July 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR July 11, 1961 E. w. RUFF 2,991,751

SLIDE FEED Filed July 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVEN TOR. [Q/W/v W fiz/Fr United States The invention herein disclosed relates to slide feeds and particularly to adjustment of the feed stroke of such devices.

In the past it has been the general practise to set the front stop at the approximated stroke position and then by radial adjustment of the driving crank and longitudinal adjustment of the turnbuckle connection to finally reach a combination for imparting the desired stroke to the feed block.

This has been a time consuming operation requiring turning over the press or other machine with which the slide feed was associated either by hand or by power and has required a considerable degree of skill and care to avoid breaking and straining of parts by the feed block being carried into forcible engagement with the front stop during such experimental adjustments.

Objects of the present invention are to avoid these objections and uncertainties and to prevent any such breakage or straining of parts.

Particularly it is a purpose of the invention to shorten the set up time and to make it possible to quickly and accurately obtain the proper adjustments for any desired length of feed.

Other desirable objects attained by the invention are set forth and Will appear in the course of the following specification.

The drawings accompanying and forming part of the specification are illustrative of a present practical embodiment of the invention. Structure, however, may be modified and changed as regards the immediate illustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

FIG. 1 in the drawings is a broken part sectional side elevation of a slide feed of the type shown in Borton Patent No. 1,959,853 of May 22, 1934 having the invention incorporated therein, showing the drive crank at zero stroke, center position and the feed block at zero center stroke position with the gripper lever in upright stock gripping position and with the pointer on the feed block registering with Zero on the feed stroke scale.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the drive cam or crank disk with the crank pin appearing in section as taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a broken plan View of the cam disk and associated parts showing the crank pin set at the center zero position on the radial scale.

FIG. 4 is a broken side elevation showing the feed block advanced up against the front stop and the pointer showing on the scale the feed stroke thereby effected.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged broken plan view of a portion of the feed block and the pointer and scale in the position of the parts in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a broken cross sectional detail on substantially the plane of line 66 of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 1 the invention is shown applied to a slide feed conventional in design to the extent of embodying a feed block 7 sliding on guide rods 8 and actuated by a crank pin 9 connected by turnbuckle 10 with one arm 27 of a bell crank rocker 11 having its other arm 28 connected by link 12 with a gripper lever 13 pivoted on the block at 14.

The crank pin 9 is carried by a block 15 shiftable radially by micrometer screw 16 in a radial groove 17 in the crank or cam member 18 mounted on the cam shaft 19 of the power press or other machine with which the slide feed is used.

A feature of this radial adjustment is that the crank pin can be shifted back to a full zero stroke or center position and that this effect may be indicated and determined by an index such as indicated at 20 reading at a zero point on a scale 21.

The index or pointer 20 is shown as an exposed sharp point or corner on the crank pin supporting block 15 positioned to register with scale 21 mounted parallel to the radial slot on the face of the cam.

A novel and important feature of the invention is the provision of index and scale mechanism for indicating absolute center position in the stroke of the feed block and the feed movement to one or both sides of that center position.

In the illustration this mechanism comprises an index pointer 22 on the feed block 7 and a scale 23 with which that pointer registers, on a stationary part 29 of the base structure 24, at the side of the block.

In FIG. 1 the feed block is shown at center of the stroke position with pointer 22 registering on the zero point of the scale 23.

With this position determined it will be known that the feed stroke will be to equal distances to opposite sides of zero and that a 1 inch movement in the feed direction on the scale will mean a total feed stroke of 2 inches in the operation of the machine.

In setting up the machine with this invention therefore, it is not necessary to depend on the front and back stops 25, 26. These may be loosened and left free, only to be set up after the stroke has been determined.

In first using the invention the general practice is to set the crank pin 9 to zero position on the cam disk as indicated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. When this is done the driving machine may be turned over either by hand or power, without imparting any movement to the feed block.

Then with this dead center crank position fixed the turnbuckle 10 may be adjusted to shift the feed block to its dead center position, which will be shown by the pointer 22 reading at zero on scale 23. Then with the feed block at dead center of its stroke it will be known that any adjustment of the crank pin away from its dead center position will impart movement to the feed block an equal distance to opposite sides of the zero position on the scale.

Thus, for example, if the pointer is one inch away from zero it will be known that the machine is set for a two inch stroke.

While the scale may show the true distance it is generally preferred to have the scale calibrated to the full stroke distances, which in the example would be two inches, making the scale direct reading for stroke adjustments.

Once the turnbuckle connection is adjusted to set the feed block at mid-position when the crank pin 9 is on dead center it will not be necessary to adjust the turnbuckle 10 again. The only adjustment then required is the radial adjustment of the crank pin to determine the stroke as in the example given.

The dead center or mid-stroke position of the feed block is a constant so that in mid-position the feed block pointer will read on zero, regardless of length of stroke. Therefore, with the feed block in the dead center position of its stroke it is only necessary to adjust the crank pin radially one way or the other to shift the block to the length of stroke desired, as shown on the feed block scale.

By using the zero mid-stroke position of the feed block as a reference the invention makes it possible to quickly and accurately set the feed stroke without need to use the front and back stops and without having to adjust the turnbuckle, connection or other parts, v

The scale for radial adjustment of the crank pin may correspond to the feed block scale, to indicate that certajn radial adjustments of the crank pin Will effect corresponding or certain feed stroke movements of the feed block.

With this invention the front and back stops need not be set up until the feed stroke adjustments are completed and then be set up, as in general practice, to assure continued accurate feed action of the machine. Also, as in general practice, if a pilot is used it is not necessary to use the front and back stops.

One practical way of using the invention is to turn the drive shaft 19 over to the maximum crank throw position of the machine as then set, with the feed block at the end of its stroke in one direction, then to note the reading on the scale, which will indicate the feed stroke at which the machine is then set. From that it is a simple matter to adjust the throw of the crank pin to the stroke desired, appearing on the scale.

For example, if the machine is set for a four inch stroke as shown on the scale, to change to a six inch 4 7 stroke it is only necessary to adjust the crank pin radially outward far enough to shift the pointer on the feed block to the six inch stroke mark on the scale.

The scale thus will show at all times the stroke for which the machine is set just by turning over the drive shaft to carry the feed block to maximum stroke position.

What is claimed is:

A slide feed comprising a suitable support, a slidable feed block on said support, an adjustable actuator operatively connected to said feed block, a graduated scale on said support adjacent said feed block, a pointer on said block, said pointer being located adjacent a terminus of said scale in the zero position of said block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 163,254 Austria June 10, 1949 

